“We’d better get back to the cove,” Anakin finally said.
The Melodies nodded, then led the two Jedi candidates through the tunnels. All was quiet when they entered the light of the cove.
“How did you fight the raiths so well?” one of the Melodies asked Anakin once he was settled on a rock by the pool.
“We have been fighting them all our lives,” the girl added.
“But never like that.” Anakin met her questioning gaze. “What is your name?” he asked.
“Sannah,” the girl replied.
The Melodie looked about nine years old, Anakin thought. He wondered how old she really was. Her white forehead was furrowed in concentration as she gazed intently at Anakin with yellow eyes ringed with thick, brown lashes.
“Sannah, do you know what the Force is?” he began.
She shook her head.
“It’s an energy field generated by all living things. It surrounds everything, and binds the galaxy together. At the Jedi academy we learn to feel that field, to control, sense, and alter it. The skills we develop also help us to sense emotions. Tahiri and I used our abilities to feel the raiths’ anger, to sense their movements at the split second before they made them. By doing that, we could anticipate where they would strike.”
“And if I want to learn these things?” Sannah said softly. “If I want to learn how to fight so that I can protect my people?”
Anakin stared into the girl’s yellow eyes. It was clear that she desperately wanted to be of help. But he also sensed her anger. Sannah had obviously lost many she loved to the predators on her planet. How could he help her to understand?
“The Force is meant to be used for peace, knowledge, and serenity. Using it in anger will lead to the dark side, a place where the Force is used for evil,” Anakin began. “There was once a man named Darth Vader who used the Force to help destroy the Jedi Knights and create an Empire designed to rule through aggression and corruption. His real name was Anakin Skywalker, and he was my grandfather.”
The young Melodie gasped.
“My uncle, the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, created the Jedi academy to help fill the galaxy again with Jedi Knights who are pledged to defend good against evil,” Anakin explained. “But he teaches us about Darth Vader and all the other evil men and women who used the Force in anger and aggression. By learning about them, we can protect ourselves from following in their footsteps, because the lure of the dark side can be powerful.”
“Does it frighten you to be named after an evil man?” Sannah asked innocently.
“Sometimes,” Anakin said softly. For a moment he could hear the dark voices that rose from the spiral stairway in the Palace of the Woolamander. Voices that told him he was just like his grandfather, and goaded him to use the Force to strike out in anger. Voices dripping with menace and warning that whoever tried to break through the field surrounding the golden globe would fail, would die. He shrugged off the memory as he flung thick brown bangs from his eyes.
“Do you know anything about the strange symbols carved in the rock walls of Sistra?” Anakin asked Sannah.
“Yes,” she replied matter-of-factly. “Some of us have seen carvings in the mountains. They’re in the lower tunnels and several of the caverns and caves. Some say they’re a message from an ancient race.”
“Do you think they’re right?” Anakin asked.
“Yes, I think they are,” Sannah replied.
“How many changelings are there?” Tahiri asked the girl who crouched beside Anakin. Sannah stared down at the pool.
“Lyric is one of a spawned group of seven,” she replied.
“How do you know if they’re all right down there?” Tahiri asked with a nod at the pool. Except for a few ripples and splashes, the water remained calm.
“We check on them every few hours,” Sannah explained.
“But if you’re not a changeling or an elder, how can you breathe underwater?” Anakin said in surprise.
Sannah pulled several long rectangles of green material from a pocket on the tunic she wore.
“We weave this material out of the stems of the trico plant,” Sannah said. “Then we sew it together to form a large pocket. We pack the pocket with the blue-green algae that floats on top of the pool, and tie it over our nose and mouth. The trico repels water, and the algae allows us to breathe oxygen beneath the surface for several minutes.”
“Can we go see Lyric?” Anakin asked.
“Er, Anakin, have you forgotten that I can’t swim?” Tahiri whispered.
Anakin hadn’t forgotten. He’d never forget watching Tahiri struggle beneath the waters of the river on Yavin 4. He’d never forget that she’d almost drowned.